Can Rika Usami Actually Fight?

Hey all!

I've been out on injury and a flu for a while, but I'm back now!

So, here's my question:

Can Rika Usami actually fight? And by fight, I mean practical and effective kicking of trained or untrained ass. Or is she just an extremely well tuned kata-bot? Now, I really like her level of dedication and practice, so don't take this post as diss on the lovely Rika, she boss! Mad respect.

I'm just wondering, from all the training she's received in karate, could she hold her own against say... Ronda Rousey? Or would Lyoto Machida be a better example?

For those who don't know, this is the video that has everyone all in an uproar over Rika (rightfully so).

Isn't she retired? From an interview after her France win, she said that she retired and teach karate in university.
And she did kumite for understanding the kata, really nice though.
And talking about mma, why not talk about Mizuki Inoue, she train in karate dojo and contracted to UFC for 115lbs.
Her fight with Bec Rawling in Invicta showed her beautiful standup technique. And from her last fight in Deep Jewel, she showed good grappling skill, she won the match by submission but lost by default for missing weight.
Interesting fact, Rika sensei also an Inoue.

What's a waste? She is doing something she clearly has dedicated herself to and doing it very well. BTW she's WKF so it's not Kyokoshin [googles] - she's Goju-ryu.

Why is it everyone's immediate assumption that someone is training for the sole purpose of self-defence or winning MMA fights? Or if they're not, that somehow they are doing something wrong?

I never said she was doing anything wrong, and I'm just expressing an opinion that's personal to me, which is neither wrong nor right either. I just wanted to know if her training has translated into any real fighting ability, and if it hasn't, that's still not a bad thing.

I'm just wondering, from all the training she's received in karate, could she hold her own against say... Ronda Rousey?

Ronda Rousey is an Olympic medalist who finished all her professional fights in less than 5 minutes (often considerably less) and who has a tendency to literally cripple her opponents. That's a pretty high bar to set for asking if Usami can fight.

If you wanted to know if some dude could grapple, would you ask if he could hang with Jacaré, or if he was able to run fast should he be able to match Usain Bolt?